24. Return (The Turning Point) (复)

Fu (復) as in returning back (fanfu) is pronounced fu in the falling tone, also written as cover (fu); the Judgment is the same. Fu means yang returns and is reborn below.

When Splitting Apart is exhausted, it becomes pure The Receptive (Earth), the hexagram of the tenth month, yet yang Qi has already begun to generate beneath.

Accumulating for over a month, the substance of a single yang is first formed and comes returning; thus the eleventh month's hexagram is Return. Because yang, having departed, now returns, there is a way of smooth progress.

Furthermore, with The Arousing (Shock, Thunder) within and The Receptive (Earth) without, there is the image of yang moving below and ascending with compliance; thus its divination also indicates that one's own going out and coming in will be without affliction, and the coming of companions will likewise be without blame.

Again, from the fifth month's Coming to Meet hexagram where a single yin first arose, traversing seven line transformations to arrive here where a single yang comes returning, this is the natural movement of Heaven; thus its divination also indicates that reversing its course, in seven days it will come and return.

And because firm virtue is just now growing, its divination also indicates that it is beneficial to have somewhere to go. 'Reversing its course' conveys the idea of going and returning, returning and going. 'Seven days' is the divined period for the return.

When the firm returns, there is smooth progress. Spoken in terms of the hexagram's virtue. The ebbing and flowing of yin and yang is the operation of Heaven's movement. 'Grows' (zhang) is pronounced zhang in the falling-rising tone.

Spoken in terms of the hexagram's structure: once generated, it gradually grows. Beneath accumulated yin, a single yang returns and generates; Heaven and Earth's heart to generate creatures was nearly extinguished, yet here it can be seen once more.

In a human being, it is movement at the peak of stillness, goodness at the peak of evil, the incipient sprout where the original heart, almost extinguished, reappears.

Master Cheng discussed this in detail, and Shao Yong's poem also said: 'At the winter solstice, in the middle of Zi, the heart of Heaven undergoes no change or shift; where the single yang first begins to stir, when the myriad things have not yet come to life.

The taste of wine is just turning mellow, the great sound is subtle and faint; if you do not believe these words, ask Fuxi once again.' How consummate are these words! Students should apply their minds fully here.

Remaining peaceful and still to nourish the subtle yang. The Monthly Ordinances states: in this month, fast and keep the body covered to await the settling of yin and yang.

The Sequence of the Hexagrams says: Things cannot be exhausted forever; when Splitting Apart is exhausted above, it returns below, hence it is received by Return.

Things have no principle of being split to total extinction; hence when splitting reaches its peak, return arrives; when yin reaches its extreme, yang is born. Yang, split to the extreme above, is reborn below; exhausting what is above, it returns below.

This is why Return follows Splitting Apart. As a hexagram, a single yang arises beneath five yin lines; yin reaching its extreme, yang returns.

In the tenth month of the year, yin's fullness reaches its peak; at the winter solstice, a single yang is reborn within the earth, hence it is Return.

Yang is the Way of the noble person; when yang wanes to the utmost and returns, the Way of the noble person wanes to the utmost and grows again; hence it has the meaning of returning to goodness. 'Return: Smooth progress'—having returned, there is smooth progress.

Yang Qi is reborn below, gradually progressing in abundance to give birth to and nurture the myriad things; when the Way of the noble person has returned, it gradually attains smooth success and bestows blessings upon all under heaven.

Therefore, return inherently carries the principle of smooth progress and prosperity. 'Going out and coming in without affliction'—going out and coming in refers to growth and generation. Rebirth within is entering; growing and advancing outward is going out.

Mentioning going out first makes the phrasing smoother. The birth of yang does not come from outside; it comes from within, hence it is called entering.

When things first emerge, their Qi is extremely delicate, hence they encounter many difficulties; when yang first emerges, its Qi is extremely delicate, hence it is easily broken and thwarted.

The emergence of spring yang is broken by yin cold, as can be observed in grasses and trees morning and evening. 'Going out and coming in without affliction' means that the delicate yang grows without anything harming it.

Having nothing to harm it, and its kind gradually advancing and arriving, it will achieve smooth prosperity, hence 'no blame.'

The so-called blame, in terms of Qi, is error or aberration; in terms of the noble person, it is suppression and obstruction, unable to realize its principle.

When yang ought to return, even if there are things to afflict it, they cannot halt its return; they only cause hindrance. Yet the hexagram's talent possesses the meaning of being without affliction, which is the excellence of the Way of return.

When a single yang first arises, being extremely delicate, it certainly cannot overcome the multitude of yin and generate the myriad things; it must await the coming of all yang lines before it can accomplish the work of generating creatures without error—thus 'friends come without blame.'

The three yangs—the Qi of Zi, Chou, and Yin—generating and completing the myriad things, are the work of the collective yang. If the Way of the noble person, having waned, returns, how could it immediately overcome the petty men?

It must await the gradual flourishing of its fellows before they can join forces to prevail over them. This refers to the way of waxing and waning arriving alternately: yang's waning reaches seven days and then comes returning.

Coming to Meet is the beginning of yang's waning; through seven changes it forms Return, hence it is called 'seven days,' meaning seven transitions.

Approach states that 'in the eighth month there will be misfortune,' referring to yang's growth lasting until yin's growth, passing through eight months.

When yang advances, yin retreats; when the Way of the noble person grows, the way of petty men wanes; hence 'it is beneficial to have somewhere to go.'

'Return brings smooth progress' means that the firm returns and thus progresses smoothly. When firm yang, having waned to the extreme, comes returning, once it has returned it gradually grows in abundance and attains smooth progress.

Moving and proceeding with compliance—this is why 'going out and coming in are without affliction, and friends come without blame'; this explains the reason through the talent of the hexagram. Moving below and yielding above means moving and proceeding with compliance.

Firm yang returns and moves compliantly, which is why going out and coming in are without affliction, and friends come without blame. The coming of friends is likewise a compliant movement.

'Reversing its course, going and coming alternately waning and waxing, coming to return in seven days'—this is how Heaven and Earth operate. Waxing and waning cause each other; this is the principle of Heaven.

The way of the firm yang noble person grows, hence 'it is beneficial to have somewhere to go.' A single yang returning below is the very heart of Heaven and Earth to produce living things.

Earlier scholars all took stillness as seeing the heart of Heaven and Earth; they failed to realize that the first stirring of movement is truly the heart of Heaven and Earth. Unless one knows the Way, who could recognize this?

Thunder is the sound produced when yin and yang clash; while yang is still faint, it cannot yet burst forth. Thunder within the earth is the time when yang first returns. Yang first generates below and is extremely delicate; only through peace and stillness can it grow.

The former kings followed the Heavenly Way: on the day of the solstice, when yang first generated, they cultivated stillness to nourish it; hence they closed the passes so merchants and travelers could not travel, and the sovereign did not inspect the four quarters.

Observing the image of Return, they accorded with the Heavenly Way. In an individual person, it is likewise so: one ought to maintain peace and stillness to nourish one's yang.

Entering is returning, going out is the growth of the firm, hence 'without affliction.' Affliction is like sickness. 'Friends' refers to the yang. From the time yang Qi first finishes peeling away until it comes returning, it is seven days in all.

By the movement of Heaven, the cycle does not exceed seven days; the return cannot be far off. Advancing, the way of petty men wanes. Return means returning to the root; Heaven and Earth take the root as their heart.

Whenever movement ceases, there is stillness; stillness is not merely the counterpart of movement. When speech ceases, there is silence; silence is not merely the counterpart of speech.

Thus, though Heaven and Earth are vast and richly possess the myriad things, with thunder moving and wind blowing, transforming through ten thousand changes, being still and reaching absolute nothingness—this is their root.

Therefore, when movement ceases within the earth, the heart of Heaven and Earth is seen. If they took 'having form' as their heart, disparate kinds of creatures would never be able to exist together.

Fang (方) means affairs. The winter solstice is the return of yin; the summer solstice is the return of yang. Therefore, in practicing return, one reaches profound stillness and great tranquility; the former kings modeled their conduct on Heaven and Earth.

Movement returning becomes stillness; traveling returning becomes stopping; affairs returning becomes being free of affairs.

The Proper Meaning states: 'Return: Smooth progress'—yang Qi returns and achieves smooth progress, hence 'Return brings smooth progress.'

'Going out and coming in without affliction'—going out, the firm grows; entering, the yang returns; fitting the right timing, there is no sickness or trouble. 'Friends come without blame'—friends refers to yang.

When the multitude of yang lines returns and gathers as companions, there is 'no blame.' Were it not for the multitude of yang coming, there would be blame; because the host of yang arrives, there is 'no blame.'

'Reversing its course, in seven days it comes to return'—desiring to turn back and return swiftly and attain its proper course, it must not wander too far; returning in only seven days accords with the Way.

'It is beneficial to have somewhere to go'—because yang Qi is just beginning to grow, advancing causes the way of petty men to wane, hence 'it is beneficial to have somewhere to go.'

From 'The Commentary on the Judgment says' to 'without blame.' The Proper Meaning states: 'Return brings smooth progress'—because when yang returns there is smooth progress, it connects smooth progress with return in explaining it.

'The firm returns, moving and proceeding with compliance'—having explained above the meaning of 'Return brings smooth progress,' it further explains below the principle of 'going out and coming in without affliction, friends come without blame,' hence saying 'this is why going out and coming in are without affliction, and friends come without blame.'

The Proper Meaning states: 'Yang Qi first finishes peeling away' means that after yang Qi has finished peeling away, until yang Qi comes returning, seven days elapse in all.

Observing the intent of Wang Bi's commentary, from the exhaustion of yang Qi until its return takes seven days in all; the commentary is clear.

Scholars Chu and Zhuang both said: 'From the fifth month when a single yin arises, to the eleventh month when a single yang arises,' seven months elapse in all; yet it says 'seven days' instead of 'months' because it wishes to show that the growth of yang must be swift, changing 'months' to 'days.'

Now Wang Bi says 'from peeling away to exhaustion' until 'coming to return,' which means seven days pass from exhaustion to return. If one counted from the fifth month, how could one say 'first finishes peeling away'?

Moreover, Approach also marks the growth of yang yet speaks of eight months; why should Return alone alter months to call them seven days?

Looking at the commentary's intent, Wang Bi certainly held this to be otherwise, employing the concept of 'six days and seven-tenths' from the Yi Apocrypha, agreeing with Zheng Xuan's theory, though his wording is abridged and does not elaborate fully.

The Yi Apocrypha: Jilan Tu states: 'The hexagram Qi begins with Inner Truth.' Thus Li, Kan, Zhen, and Dui each preside over one cardinal direction, while the remaining sixty hexagrams each have six lines, each line presiding over one day, totaling 360 days.

The remaining five and one-quarter days—each day being divided into 80 fen, five days make 400 fen, and one-quarter day makes 20 fen, totaling 420 fen.

Distributing this among sixty hexagrams, six sevens are 42, so each hexagram receives seven fen, making six days and seven fen per hexagram. The exhaustion of yang Qi in Splitting Apart occurs at the end of the ninth month; the tenth month belongs to pure The Receptive (Earth).

The Receptive has six days and seven fen. When The Receptive is exhausted, the yang of Return arrives; thus from the exhaustion of Splitting Apart to the return of yang Qi, it is separated by the single hexagram of The Receptive, lasting six days and seven fen.

Expressed in round numbers, Wang Bi says 'seven days in all.' 'Reversing its course' conveys the sense of going out and coming in: fan means entering and turning back; fu means after having turned back, returning upward again.

The Proper Meaning states: 'Reversing its course, in seven days it comes to return; such is the movement of heaven'—uses the movement of heaven to explain 'reversing its course, in seven days it comes to return.'

It means turning back and returning accords with its proper course; returning in only seven days, it cannot stay away long. This is the movement of Heaven.

After Heaven's yang Qi is extinguished, within not more than seven days yang Qi is reborn; this is the natural principle of Heaven, hence called 'the movement of heaven.'

The Proper Meaning states: It uses 'the firm grows' to explain the meaning of 'it is beneficial to have somewhere to go.' 'In Return does one not see the heart of Heaven and Earth?' The Proper Meaning states: 'In Return does one not see the heart of Heaven and Earth?'

praises and illuminates the meaning of Return. Heaven and Earth nourish the myriad things taking stillness as their heart: doing nothing yet things act of themselves, not generating yet things are born of themselves, silent and unmoving—this is the heart of Heaven and Earth.

In this image of Return, 'movement rests within the earth'; thunder is under the earth, resting and unmoving, and its quiet stillness resembles the heart of Heaven and Earth. Observing this image of Return, one 'sees the heart of Heaven and Earth.'

Heaven and Earth have no personal master, so how could they have a mind? Drawing on the human mind, it is ascribed to Heaven and Earth to establish a model.

On the commentary: 'Return means returning to the root' to 'disparate kinds of creatures would never be able to exist together.'

The Proper Meaning states: 'Return means returning to the root'—previously departing from the original place and now returning to it is what is meant by 'returning to the root.' 'Heaven and Earth take the root as their heart'—the root means stillness.

It means Heaven and Earth, silent and unmoving, 'take the root as their heart.' Whenever movement ceases, there is stillness; stillness is not merely the counterpart of movement.

In the movements of Heaven and Earth, stillness is the root and movement is the branch; times of stillness are many, and times of movement are few.

If it stirs momentarily and then ceases, it returns to stillness; thus stillness is not the counterpart of movement, meaning stillness as the root exists naturally of itself, not born as a reaction to movement—hence 'stillness is not merely the counterpart of movement.'

'When speech ceases, there is silence; silence is not merely the counterpart of speech'—speech is the movement of sound; silence is the stillness of the mouth.

When not speaking, one is constantly silent; it is not that silence exists only in contrast to speech, because movement and stillness, speech and silence, are of distinct natures, hence 'not the counterpart.'

'Though Heaven and Earth are vast and richly possess the myriad things, with thunder moving and wind blowing, transforming through ten thousand changes' speaks of the movement of Heaven and Earth.

'Being still and reaching absolute nothingness—this is their root' has two meanings: first, though the myriad things move on the outside, Heaven and Earth remain utterly still within; the outside is the branch and the inside is the root, meaning Heaven and Earth have no deliberate mind.

Second, though thunder moves and wind blows through a thousand changes and ten thousand transformations, once the thunder and wind cease and transformations halt, it likewise returns to quiet and absolute nothingness.

'If they took having form as their heart, disparate kinds of creatures would never be able to exist together'—if one takes nothingness as the heart, then self and other are treated as one, and close and distant are equal, causing no harm to disparate kinds, and both sides find peace.

If one took 'having form' as the heart, the self would remain confined to the self and could not extend universally to creatures, and creatures would remain confined to themselves without relying universally on me; creatures would then be harmed, hence 'they would not be able to exist together.'

From 'The Image says' to 'the sovereign does not inspect the four quarters.' The Proper Meaning states: 'Thunder within the earth: Return'—thunder is an active thing, and the Return hexagram takes the resting of movement as primary; hence it says 'thunder within the earth.'

'The former kings, on the day of the solstice, closed the passes'—the former kings modeled themselves on this Return hexagram: on the days of the two solstices they closed the passes, so merchants and travelers did not journey on the roads.

'The sovereign does not inspect the four quarters'—fang means affairs; the sovereign does not inspect the affairs of the quarters. Because the earth encloses and conceals the thunder, the pass gates are closed and merchants do not travel.

The sovereign concealing himself from worldly affairs likewise draws upon the meaning of 'movement resting.' On the commentary: 'Fang means affairs' to 'affairs returning becomes being free of affairs.'

The Proper Meaning states: 'Fang means affairs'—fearing that fang might be misunderstood as the territorial borders of the four quarters, it is interpreted as affairs.

It means that on the solstice day, not only should one not travel abroad, one should also not inspect worldly affairs. 'The winter solstice is the return of yin; the summer solstice is the return of yang'—return means returning to the root, and stillness is the root of movement.

At the winter solstice a single yang is born: yang moves into activity while yin returns to stillness. At the summer solstice a single yin is born: yin moves into activity while yang returns to stillness.

'Movement returning becomes stillness; traveling returning becomes stopping; affairs returning becomes being free of affairs'—when movement returns it reverts to stillness; when travel returns it reverts to stopping; when affairs return they revert to being free of affairs.